Sheffield United vs Brentford Odds
| Sheffield United Odds | +350 |
| Brentford Odds | -134 |
| Draw | +280 |
| Over / Under | 2.5 -118 / -106 |
Sheffield United will be hosting Brentford this Saturday as Chris Wilder will be looking to pick up his first points since being reappointed as the Blades' boss. Sheffield United will be desperate for any sort of momentum going forward, while Brentford will look to get back to winning ways.
They did not get the typical new manager bounce as they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool during the midweek matches. Sheffield United may have looked a shade more organized, but it was pretty much more of the same for the club rock bottom of the league.
Brentford sit 11th in the league after their 2-1 defeat against Brighton on Wednesday. The Bees have been a very average side this season with five wins, four draws and six losses in their first 15 matches with a +2 goal difference. They will be looking to pick up all 3 points in what looks like an entirely winnable fixture.
Let’s see how I expect Sheffield United vs Brentford to play out and how to bet this one.
Sheffield United
Sheffield United still occupy the basement of the Premier League table and they have shown nothing to suggest that is changing anytime soon. They were able to show some fight and passion in their match against Liverpool, but that is the bare minimum when a new manager is brought in. There is still a massive quality gap between them and the majority of the other sides in the league.
In his return, Wilder put faith in some young talent up front for the Blades. His front four consisted of William Osula, Andre Brooks, James McAtee and Cameron Archer, all being 21-years old or younger. This seemed like an attempt to bring some energy into what had become a stale front line for the Blades.
This strategy somewhat worked, holding off this elite Liverpool offense for the first 30 minutes of the match before Virgil van Dijk broke the deadlock. However, this youthful and energetic Sheffield United lineup limited Liverpool to very little big chances throughout most of the match. It was evident that Wilder had them organized and trying to play for him, but the lack of quality is going to let them down against the best sides in the league, which was shown in this one.
There was still very little encouragement going forward for this squad, but I do think Wilder will be changing his tactics in preparation for Brentford. I anticipate him coming out quick and looking to get ahead in this match, unlike the Liverpool match where they sat back for a full 90 minutes.
Brentford
Brentford are just not the same side without Ivan Toney. The Bees have been playing some good football all season, and they are massively underperforming a lot of their underlying statistics. Their goalkeepers have given up over four more goals than expected and their outfield players have underperformed their xG number by almost six goals, one of the highest in the league.
Most of these Brentford players were poor finishers last year as well. The difference was that Toney was always overperforming, as well as David Raya. Flekken and Maupay/Mbuemo are massive downgrades from what they had last season, and it is impressive that Thomas Frank still has them sitting in 11th.
Frank has made Brentford a truly elite low-block side. The reason why they are conceding at a much higher rate than last season is because last year Raya saved five goals in the league, while Flekken has given up almost four. Frank is not to blame for his men sitting in the bottom half of the table.
Sheffield United vs Brentford
Prediction
Brentford have been slightly above average both going forward and defending this year, hence why they sit mid-table. Sheffield United have been by far the worst team in the league this year, only scoring 11 goals and conceding 41.
Like I have stated however, Brentford are due for some positive regression, and I do think they will score in this match. However, betting on an away side against a newly appointed manager is risky, therefore I will be taking both teams to score at -130.
If Sheffield United fail to score in their first two matches with Chris Wilder in charge, both being at Bramall Lane, then there is little to no hope for them going forward. I have both teams to score at -140 so I also see some value in this number.
